Thames Valley Over 65's

Professional football managers all moan about their injury list etc, but they normally have a large squad to pick from whereas in our game we may only have two players for one position and when both become unavailable the day before the tournament then you are in trouble, especially when its the position of goalkeeper!

So both our squads arrived at the National Sports Centre at Bisham Abbey on Tuesday 17th March without recognised goalkeepers. This also meant that our First Team in Division 1 were also down to the bare minimum of six players!

However, the lads put up a good fight and its fair to say they left everything 'on the grass' well, 4G actually.  Our first game was against Abingdon and neither side really created any clear cut chances but we probably shaded the possesion stats. 0-0 the final score.  Steve Manly, our normal midfield general volunteered to play in goal and put in a good performance throughout considering he is not a goalkeeper.

Our second match was against a very strong Bracknell side and again we dominated possesion and brought three top-class saves from their keeper to keep the score down to 0-0 at the half way stage. However, a powerful shot from range saw them take the lead. On another day it would have been ruled out for 'not walking' but hey ho! 1-0 the final score. Our next game was against arch rivals Highworth and again the only two shots they had on target, found the back of the net. We did pull one back when Mick Stanbridge locked on to a loose ball from their defence and found the top corner with a placed shot.  This came after a well worked corner resulting in Alastair Greene scoring, only for it to be ruled because apprently he had a 'toe-nail' in the box! 

Where is VAR when you need it! 2-1 the final score.  Our final game was against newly promoted Cove and with all the lads becoming a bit leggy from putting a superb shift in, it was always going to be difficult, although a trademark turn and shot from Mick Stanbridge hit the bar, but two fine shots from the Cove captain sealed the result.  A 2-0 defeat.

So three losses and a draw with just six players and no real goalkeeper was hard to take, as both Lee Swales and the ever dependable Cliff Leat worked tirelessly in defence with our midfield duo of Andy Balshaw and Alastair Greene bossing possesion in most of the games with Mick Stanbridge up front.

There are positives to take from this session and that is the togetherness and team effort  and spirit that the squad showed and even after a tough day, they left with smiles on their faces having enjoyed a game of football, which is what it is all about!

Well done guys.

Squad: Steve Manly, Cliff Leat, Lee Swales, Alastair Greene, Andy Balshaw, Mick Stanbridge

Our Second Team were also without a recognised goalkeeper and again our skipper Steve Buckey stepped up and took the gloves.  Our first game in the newly formed Division 4 was against our local neighbours Tring. Both sides played some nice football in a sporting manner but it was a well taken move involving Mike Woods and Brian Kemp which led to Andy Smith beating the Tring keeper with a good strike from just outside the box. 1-0 the final score. Next up was newcomers Woodley and on paper this should have been a 'walk in the park', but you should never count your chickens and it was Woodley who took a surprise lead.  Parity was restored however, when Barry Lustigman scored with a powerful long range shot. 1-1 was probably a fair result especially as Woodley's keeper also saved a well taken penalty, which would have made it 2-1.  After a short break we then played Abingdon B and after a slow start Mike Wood scored a well taken goal having turned his marker, he then expertly lobbed the keeper, who was rooted to the spot. Brian Kemp, who had been immense in the centre of midfield, scored with another well taken goal. Shortly after, David Rose also had a good chance of scoring a third, but he couldn't keep his shot down. The lads were coasting at this point in the game, but with virtually the last kick of the game and stand-in keeper Steve Buckey unsighted, Abingdon managed to pull one back, but it proved only to be a consolation goal. 2-1 the final score.  Our final game was against Maidenhead and for some reason these games always tend to get a little bit physical. However, our lads battled hard, especially Dave Marsh who had defended expertly all afternoon and with neither side creating many chances the game ended 0-0.

So two draws and two wins puts us top of Division 4 and with three sessions left to play, gives us lots of positives to build on.

Squad: Steve Buckey, Barry Lustigman, Dave Marsh, Andy Smith, David Rose, Mike Wood, Brian Kemp.